Pink Dinosaur #183

Pink Grey Heron by Mo Hassan

Created using an original JPEG photograph saved as a bitmap and coloured over using Microsoft Paint.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur Oct. 31st Update!

What an amazing even Pink Dinosaurs has turned out to be!  Can you believe we have over 180 pink dinosaur submissions so far?  Thank you so much! This is far more than we had expected when we began this breast cancer fundraiser - we are almost at 200! 

As October ends today (Happy Halloween, by the way!), you may be wondering where Pink Dinosaurs goes from here.  So far, we have raised $202 from direct donations at our Event Page towards our goal of $500.  Once we add the donation from ART Evolved's administration ($1 for every pink dinosaur submission = $182 so far), the total will be $384.  We're not quite there yet!

As I KNOW there are more submissions to post, and probably a few more coming in late, we are extending Pink Dinosaurs until November 10th!  This allows you an extra week to finish your pink macaroni glue project and email it to us at artevolved@blogspot.com.

On November 11th, we will donate the number of submissions to the Canadian Cancer Society and report back to you here with the TOTAL donations for breast cancer research!

So we aren't done yet!  Consider this the last push for your pink dinosaurs and donations!  Thank you so much!

Pink Dinosaur #182

Pink Bar-Headed Goose by Mo Hassan

Created using an original JPEG photograph saved as a bitmap and coloured over using Microsoft Paint.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #181

Pink Oviraptor by Trish Arnold

Sharpie, gel pens, markers, and glitter. And even worse combo, it turns out. Oh well, the point is I filled a thirty page Sketchbook with pink dinosaurs of all kinds. Next stop, Ebay!

 

Congratulations Trish, amazing work!

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #180

Pink Stegosaurus by Sean Craven

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #179

Pink Rhodonessa by Albertonykus

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #178

Pink Brachiosaur by Trish Arnold

Markers and gel pens. Not a good combo, as it turns out, but at least I remembered to include a P!nk dinosaur.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #177

Pink Thililua by Myrrh Winston

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #176

Pink Concavenator by Kalitro

A pink Concavenator corcovatus.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #175

Pink Oviraptorids by Trish Arnold

Ink and watercolor. Awww... Have to say, this one's my favorite from the final batch.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #174

Pink Stegosaurus by Myrrh Winston

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #173

Pink Thriller by Trish Arnold

Ink and watercolor. In my head, this was a "Thriller" tribute. On the page... I don't even know.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #172

Pink Dinosaur by David Maas

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #171

Pink Triceratops by Trish Arnold

Marker and watercolor. Had to represent Cliff; he is my homeboy.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #170

Pink Ankylosaurus by Myrrh Winston

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #169

Pink Velociraptor by David Williams

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #168

Pink Maiasaura by Carlos Benedito

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here. 

Pink Dinosaur #167

Pink Parasaurolophus by Trish Arnold

Pink Sharpie and watercolors. It's on the opposite page as the 10.22 image (below!)

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Click the Elasmosaur to read James Gurney's journey in creating this image for Ranger Rick.
Part one is about making a Pliosaur illustration work.

Pink Dinosaur #166

Pink Parasaurolophus by Trish Arnold

Ink and watercolor and f***ing magic all up in this b***.
Because you couldn't look at this image, found by Darwin's Bulldog (I first saw it on "Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs"), and not be inspired. It is easily one of the most mystifying things I have ever seen.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #165

Pink Camptosaurus by David Tana

14 - Brachiosaurus altithorax - the now lone member of it's genus, B. altithorax was one of the largest Morrison Formation dinosaurs living in the Late Jurassic (~ 150 mya).  Like other brachiosaurids, it had forelimbs longer than its hindlimbs, and like other macronarians, it had large nasal chambers located high on the skull.  This guy was inspired by the Carnegie Collection Brachiosaurus figure.  Created in MS Paint.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #164

Pink Triceratops by Trish Arnold

Gel pen, Sharpie, highlighter, glitter, and watercolor. Prompted when I learned that -*sigh*- there are still people out there who don't "get" the deal with Triceratops.

(It's a not-widely-accepted-unless-we-get-concrete-evidence theory that maybe Torosaurus is just a really old and cranky Triceratops. So if that turns out to be the case, Torosaurus remains will be relabeled Triceratops. Triceratops isn't going anywhere and, sadly, that's the main misunderstanding that the mainstream news got horribly wrong.)

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #163

Pink Allosaurus by David Tana

13 - Allosaurus fragilis - this tetanuran roamed the western United States during the Late Jurassic (~ 155-145 mya), and was the dominant predator of the Morrison Formation. Described in 1877 by O. C. Marsh, A. fragilis was one of the first well known theropods (and is by far the greatest dinosaur of all time, in my opinion).  The skeletal reference for this restoration is the famous AMNH 5753 on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.  Pen and highlighter on paper.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #162

Pink Protoceratops & Velociraptor by Trish Arnold

Gel pen and watercolor. I have to show my purple somehow, right?

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #161

Pink Sauropod by Adrian Ashworth

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #160

A special twofer from Trish, for our 160!

Pink Boobies by Trish Arnold

Pencil and watercolor. I couldn't resist. Though this is sort of inspired by a tattoo design a friend requested... a while back...

Pink Boobies by Trish Arnold

Pencil drawing painted in Photoshop. Once again, I couldn't resist.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #159

Pink Nomingia by Nick Lee

Nomingia. Because they look sweet with shades.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #158

Pink Tsingtaosaurus by Trish Arnold

Sparkly gel pen and highlighter. Tsingtaosaurus is so pretty...

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #157

Pink Spinosaur by Trish Arnold

Ink and markers. Oh, so pretty!

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #156

Pink Albertonykus by Nick Lee

Since I was informed that the Albertonykus was in fact the least-loved dinosaur, it seemed only right that I submit a drawing of the neglected creature as well. Nobody deserves to be forgotten!

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #155

Pink Sauropod by Trish Arnold

Markers. Love those spots.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

The Art Thief vs. The Dinosaur Bloggers

This story concerns online art theft, copyright infringement, a plucky band of bloggers, and dinosaurs.  

How Not to Steal Artwork Online 

or, 

The Art Thief vs the Dinosaur Bloggers

Dramatis Personae:

• ART Evolved, the online paleo-art blog and network of approximately 20 paleontology-inspired artists and illustrators who blog.
• deviantArt (known as dA), the massive online art sharing site.  When I say massive, as of August 2010, dA has over 14.5 million members and over 100 million pieces of art uploaded into it (Wikipedia). For those in the science community unfamiliar with it, it acts like Facebook and Flickr, but heavier on the painting and drawing than photography with lots of manga and comics and inspired amateurs. 
• Dr. Manabu Sakamoto, aka Mambo-Bob, an artist contributor to Art Evolved and paleontologist at the University of Bristol. He blogs at The Raptor's Nest. 
• *theSpinosaurusGuy, aka Brenden, a dA user. 

The events:
Early yesterday morning, Manabu emailed the rest of the list of Art Evolved members about something all artists fear:  someone else was posting his artwork online and taking credit for it. This person, known by the dA pseudonym of theSpinosaurusGuy (real name listed as "Brenden") had posted about 12 of Manabu's dinosaur drawings on deviantArt and was taking credit for them, watermarking them with his pseudonym and posting dA-enabled widgets in his gallery saying they were not to be copied.

Another artist on dA who is also familiar with Manabu's work had alerted him.

You can see Manabu's artwork here in his online gallery.  Click on Allosaurus-top view for example.
You can see in the screen-captured images below, theSpinosaurusGuy clearly claiming this as his own.  Note the same Allosaurus top view drawing on the left. 

Click to enlarge.  Note the watermark on the right-hand image, claiming that as his own as well.

Note the watermark and the "artist's" comment.

It's theft.  Pure and simple.  It's not a re-use, or a fan homage to Manabu's art.  It's not a gallery where theSpinosaurusGuy collected his favourite pieces of art (dA does have that feature, and everything is clearly labeled as the original artists' work.) He is not claiming to be Dr. Manabu Sakamoto, he is instead claiming the artwork as his own labour.

Manabu doesn't have a deviantArt account.  A number of other dA members do however, and with a minimum of discussion, we acted as individuals, but part of a group helping our respected peer.

I started by making a brief comment on the Albertaceratops, the feathered raptor, the top-view Allosaurus and a few others.  DeviantArt is very aware that this type of behaviour can and does occur, and has a mechanism to deal with it.  Next to every posted artwork, there is a "Report a Violation" link, which allows you to write a brief description of the complaint, and provide a link to evidence it's a violation.

I filled about 6 of these out.  I also left comments beneath each one with links back to Manabu's gallery so others could see for themselves:  deviantArt is a very social site, you can add friends, comment and click "favourite" on art have nested conversations.  I left the comments so new visitors would see that theSpinosaurusGuy wasn't the artist he claimed to be.


The Art Evolved Network reacts:
Letting Manabu and our Art Evolved peeps know what I'd done, I came back a couple of hours later to find that theSpinosaurusGuy had blocked me from making further comments and labeled me a spammer. Of course, the comments I'd made were all deleted.

But it didn't matter.  You see, Peter Bond, of Bond's Blog and one of the driving forces behind the current Pink Dinosaur charity drive is also a dA user, and started to comment on the rest of the ones I had missed. And what Bond did was brilliant: he replied in the nested comments to previous commenters who had unwittingly praised the thief. Now, all of the people praising the work knew Spino-Brenden was a fraud.

While that was done, I had received automated messages from the dA moderators that they had removed the 6 pieces of art I had complained about: within about 4 hours! Not bad for a site with approximately 1.5 million comments daily!

Discussion in the Art Evolved emails was heating up.  More members of Art Evolved, like Ville Sinkonnen, Raven Amos, Trish Arnold and Nima Sassani jumped in and continued to post messages. Ville and Trish posted journal entries on dA about it, Peter re-posted Ville's, and I posted a critique of one of the works. Journals and critiques can't be deleted by the offender.

And we were civil:  let's be clear here, I think all of us recognized that theSpinosaurusGuy is likely somewhat young and naive about art, copyright and social media. This was not a pile-on with the intent rip him a new one.  Most of us called for the artist to stop deleting comments, feel ashamed, and give Manabu an apology.

More artwork was removed by the dA moderators (go moderators!) Some of theSpinosaurusGuy's former dA friends started to chastise him on his message wall. As I write this, only one of Manabu's drawings, a ceratosaurus, is still on the site.  Another dA user, not affiliated with Art Evolved has found that a computer-generated Barney the Dinosaur parody actually belongs to another artist Spino-Brenden has stolen from.

Message to theSpinosaurusGuy:
Once the jig was up, dude, if you're reading this, you should have apologized and taken them down immediately. Comments like the ones in the screen-capture below just enraged everyone.

Click to read the jackass-ishness.

 
As I said before, I suspect you are younger than many of us in Art Evolved, and probably in your teens.  DeviantArt is a great place where you can find a niche for almost anything and have positive contact with people, and maybe that's what you were looking for.  

And I get that.  One of the ways to appear as a respectable, sensible adult is to take responsibility for your mistakes. It's still not too late.  You'll continue to take some heat from some people on dA no doubt, but suffer through it, and become what you admire.   
 
What this means:  
There's a reason I asked Manabu and our Art Evolved peeps if I could write about this experience.

You see, the online world has changed things. Now there's a niche for artwork of every kind, and lots of people with similar interests can find each other quickly.  And while dinosaurs are granted a certain fondness and awesomeness in popular culture, there's a relatively small niche of artists passionate enough about them to be really into it.

Theft is going to get found out.

All of us on Art Evolved experienced a point in time where we made a decision to go online with our artwork.  It's a tough decision, and everyone frets to varying degrees about what will happen if our work is stolen.

• We slap copyright symbols on it, and some of us put obscuring watermarks on the images.
• We employ Creative Commons Licences, or rail against Google ImageSearch for making it so easy.  
• We vary on how much we protect our artwork, and how much we like to share it.  
• None of us is likely to know if an indie punk band in Vienna has downloaded our Diabloceratops for their gig posters.  

So if you're an aspiring artist looking to get into paleo-art or any kind of image, and you're nervous about making a big enough name for yourself online, here's some stuff you can do.

• Don't steal. 
• If it's a fan homage, say it is.  
• Don't re-post someone's stuff without asking.  
• If they have a blanket statement saying it's okay, make sure you link back to them and give them credit.   
• Always give artists, illustrators and image-makers credit. Always.
• Just ask.  Always ask if it's cool.  Most illustrators love feedback.
• Use the © symbol a lot. State what you want. 
• Blog.  Post comments elsewhere.  Reciprocate.
• Become friends and peers to others with similar interests. 
• If you can, be part of a network or group online. 
• "I got yer back" is one of the most heart-warming statements you can utter to a friend. 

If someone steals your work, 

• make a fuss. 
• Go through proper channels. 
• Be civil and intelligent when you dialogue. 
• Ask for help from your support network.  

I encourage anyone to put their artwork online.  And becoming part of a network makes everyone stronger than without it.

Thanks to:
All of the Art Evolved crew for giving one of our own your support and for carrying yourselves maturely. 

To the deviantArt moderators for reacting quickly.
To other dA artists for shaming the behaviour and not shrugging their shoulders. 

And to Manabu for agreeing I should write about this.

-Glendon Mellow
[All above opinions are my own.  Cross-posted on both Art Evolved and The Flying Trilobite]

- - - - - - - -

Artwork in those screen captures is by the talented Manabu Sakamoto © 2010 of The Raptor's Nest.

Pink Dinosaur #154

Pink Triceratops by Trish Arnold

Ink and gel pen. Pink triceratops is hardcore.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #153

Pink Ducks by Trish Arnold

Ink applied with a duck feather! So these pink dinosaurs were drawn with a part of a dinosaur.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #152

Pink Camptosaurus by David Tana

12 - Camptosaurus aphanoecetes - a medium sized ornithopod from the Late Jurassic (~156-145 mya) of North America, this beaked, herbivorous species of Camptosaurus is known from specimens collected at Dinosaur National Monument and described in 2008. Skeletal reference for sketch is a mounted skeleton on display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Pen and highlighter on paper (attempted "zebra stripes" are a regrettable).

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #151

Pink Hadrosaur by Trish Arnold

Ink and gel pen. And bleeding-through Prismacolors on the last page.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #150

150 Pink Dinosaurs!!!  Wow!  Keep them coming!

Pink Pachycephalosaurs by Trish Arnold

 Prismacolor markers.   Obscure "Simpsons" references FTW.  This is what happens when you draw Pachycephalosaus with no reference.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #149

Pink Anchiornis by David Tana

11 - Anchiornis huxleyi - a small troodontid from the Jurassic of China (~160 mya), named after "Darwin's bulldog".  This feathered dinosaur was one of the first to have its full body color (with the exception of the tail) determined using new techniques that examine fossil melanosomes (pigment containing cells found in feathers) and compare them with melanosomes in living birds. 

I took a little artistic license with the "rufous" feathers on the head and face, but hey, it's for a fundraiser, so that's cool, right? Color references from Li et al., 2010. Color pencil on paper.

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #148

Pink Sauropod by Trish Arnold

Markers. It's still going on!

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #147

Pink Dinosaur by Grayson, a student at Sundance Elementary School in Victoria, BC

Thank you, Class!

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #146

Pink Dinosaur by a student at Sundance Elementary School in Victoria, BC

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #145

Pink Dinosaur by a student at Sundance Elementary School in Victoria, BC

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #144

Pink Stegosaurs by Trish Arnold

Ink and watercolors. Oh, Spike, what kind of "Tree Stars" have you gotten into?

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #143

Pink Dinosaur by a student at Sundance Elementary School in Victoria, BC

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #142

Pink Dinosaur by a student at Sundance Elementary School in Victoria, BC

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #141

Pink Dinosaur by a student at Sundance Elementary School in Victoria, BC

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.

Pink Dinosaur #140

Pink Dinosaur by Trish Arnold

Markers.  "There's no sensation to compare with this..."

Learn more about the Pink Dinosaur Cancer Fundraiser here.